The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Hydrangea macrophylla known by the varietal name `Venice Raven`.
The new cultivar is the product of a planned breeding program which had the objectives of creating a new Hydrangea having a compact form and vigorous growth requiring little or no chemical growth regulator and with full and rich bright colored flowers which survive periods of cool storage and remain on the plant during forcing.
The new cultivar originated from a hybridization by the inventors, Franz-Xaver Rampp and Konrad Rampp, in a controlled breeding program at Rampp Jungpflanzen OHG, Mindelbergstrasse 8, D-87772 Pfaffenhausen, Germany, in 1994. The female parent was the cultivar `Freudenstein`and the male parent was the cultivar `Bottstein`. Neither parent cultivar is patented.
Asexual reproduction was accomplished when cuttings were taken from the mother plant and tissue cultured.
The new cultivar has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity and day length. The following observations, measurements and comparisons describe plants pinched once in autumn and grown in 13 cm pots in Pfaffenhausen under greenhouse conditions which approximate those generally used in commercial practice.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be basic characteristics of the new cultivar which in combination distinguish this Hydrangea as a new and distinct cultivar.
1) Brighter fuchsia colored flowers and more compact form than `Iberg`, not patented.
2) Early growth.
3) Storable in the cold.
4) No chemical growth regulators necessary in the early stage of cultivation nor during forcing.
5) Extremely high resistance to Botrytis.